Corona Devo 2031

How do we receive hard/difficult/impossible news?

(Oooo, by putting "impossible"--we move into a new emotional-category to include such events as ugly diagnoses/death of a loved one/or other devastating circumstances).

How do we receive that kind of information delivery?

King Nebuchadnezzar (in the Old Testament of the Bible) had a dream. It impacted him. It confused him. It disturbed him. It drove him to threaten murder upon people if they could not explain it to him. ...And they couldn't.

One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. (2) He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, (3) he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”

(4) Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

(5) But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! (6) But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”

(7) They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

(8) The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, (9) ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”

(10) The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! (11) The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

(12) The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. (13) And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. ~Daniel 2:1-12

~~~

King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all of the wise men be executed. He decreed it.

What would we have done if we were in that learned and wise group of people who were ordered to be killed?

!Newsflash! - We ARE in the learned and wise group today.

What should we do with questions/problems/dead-end situations that we encounter today?

Let's look to Daniel and the book of Daniel in the Bible.

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. ~Daniel 2:14

Daniel knew God, and he had God's peace, which enabled him to respond to (said emergency) with wisdom and discretion. (I love that!)

Daniel did not panic when the crap-hit-the-fan in his life!

We don't need to either.

Let's use and draw-from/rely-upon our wisdom and discretion today.

~~~

Daniel asked good questions of earthly men, and Daniel kept-his-head in stressful situations. We can learn a lot from Daniel:

(15) He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. (16) Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. ~Daniel 2:15-16

Daniel asked good questions of God, and Daniel prayed good prayers to God.

(17) Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. (18) He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. ~Daniel 2:17-18

Daniel prayed when He was in tight situations. Daniel prayed when there seemed to be no way out. Daniel knew that with God there would be a way out.

Also note that Daniel had no "me" in his prayer. He asked God to show his mercy to them (he and his friends) by telling (any!) of them.

God's glory will never be connected to any one person. Not our pastor, not our king, not our president, not our spouse, not any of our influencers, and definitely not to (just) us.

Daniel prayed for God's mercy and direction delivered to ANY OF THEM. Let's not be selfish or self-focused in our lives of service to God today.

We can learn a lot from Daniel.

~~~

Daniel asked God and prayed to God.

And then God spoke to Daniel through a vision. That vision would save Daniel and his wise friends from untimely death.

God answered Daniel's prayer.

And after God answered-him/delivered-him/blessed-him: Daniel praised Him.

(19) That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. (20) He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.

(21) He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings.

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. 

(22) He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. 

(23) I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” ~Daniel 2:19-23

Did we notice what Daniel did right away in response to the Lord's presence and answer?

Daniel praised God right away.

What do we think we should do when we see and experience God's will and provision in our lives?

Let's praise the Lord for how He is moving in our lives today.

“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power...

I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength." ~Daniel 2:20, 23

~~~

After Daniel finished praising the Lord, what do you think He did?

What should we do when we experience God (His power/His sovereignty/His presence/His miracles) in our lives?

Daniel testified about God.  He told others about God and the power that God has (not us).  Daniel took no credit for the dream interpretation.  Instead he bragged on God.

What should we do when God moves a mountain in our life?   B.O.G. -- Brag on God today!

Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”

(25) Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”

(26) The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”

(27) Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. (28) But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.

(29) “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. (30) And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.  ~Daniel 2:1-30

But there is a God in Heaven who reveals secrets.  

We can pray to God about our emergencies and our dead-end circumstances today. 

Daniel did not panic, and we don't need to either. We can ask God, praise God, and testify-for-God because our big-brother in the faith, Daniel did.

We can learn a lot from Daniel.

Blessings, 

Sarah 

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com